North Carolina Down Payment Support Programs

Online Payments - The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency got two excellent programs for first-time Home Buyers. These programs are the Down Payment Assistance Program along with the Mortgage Credit Certificate.

If you qualify for one of those plans and you buy a house between December 1, 2009 and January 1, 2009, you can ALSO be eligible for the $8,000 tax credit just enacted into law.

First, who is a first-time Home Buyer? There is a First Time Home Buyer someone who has not owned a house in the past three years. That is precisely the same qualifying definition.

What is a Mortgage Credit Certificate and Who Qualifies?

The MCC takes this a step further. An MCC “reduces your tax liability according to a portion of the mortgage interest which you pay.

Should you qualify for the MCC, it is possible to claim 20% of the interest you pay as a credit on your federal income taxes on your mortgage. You can save as much as .

You will be able to combine this with the $8,000 tax credit, should you qualify for the MCC, for 2009. This would reduce the tax liability of a buyer's by $10,000.

Who qualifies for an MCC is based on your own income along with the cost of the property you're purchasing. Household income is defined as the “gross income of the mortgagor and every other man anticipated to live in the residence who's 18 years old or older.”

House price limits that apply in Durham, Orange and Chatham Counties and the income are listed below.

MCC Income Limits 1 Individual $61,500 2 Men $61,500 3 Persons $70,500 4 Individuals $70,500

MCC Sales Price Limits New House $220,000 Existing House $210,000

Who Qualifies for Down Payment Assistance?

The buyer just needs to pay and the load would pay up to $8,000 of the remaining balance.

This program has more stringent income limits than the MCC program outlined above. Like the MCC program, it can be used together with the new $8,000 tax credit on home purchases between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009. The down payment assistance, however, can't be employed in conjunction together with the MCC. It is an either or situation.

House price limits Durham and Chatham Counties and the income are listed below.

Down Payment Assistance Income Limitations

1 Man $39,950 2 Persons $45,650 3 Individuals $51,350 4 Individuals $57,050

Down Payment Assistance Sales Price Limits New Dwelling $210,000 Existing House $210,000